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Economic History of the Canadian Oil Sands Commercial production of oil from the Athabasca oil sands began in 1967, when Suncor opened its first mine. Development was soon inhibited by declining world oil prices. The second mine, operated by Syncrude, began operating in 1978. As the price of oil subsided after the Arab oil embargo, the plug was again pulled on new developments. The third mine, operated by Shell Canada started operating only in 2003. With the 2004-2006 oil price increases, and the production cost being $ 35-$ 38, the existing mines have been greatly expanded and new ones are being planned

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Where Will the Tar Oil Go? An agreement has been signed between PetroChina and Enbridge to build a 400,000 barrel-per-day pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta to the west-coast port of Kitimat BC to export synthetic crude oil from the oil sands to China plus a 150,000 bpd pipeline running the other way to import condensate to dilute the bitumen so it will flow. Sinopec, China's largest refining and chemical company, and China National Petroleum Corporation have bought shares in major oil sands companies India invested $1 billion in the Athabasca Oil Sands in 2006. Four Indian companies are involved

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Shale Oil Oil shales are rocks rich in organic matter (kerogen) The oil is derived through retorting, i.e. pyrolysis in the absence of air, at 445-500 °C The worldwide reserves of oil shale are estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels of recoverable oil. 1.0-1.2 trillion barrels are in the US Oil shale is can be burned as is, but it is a low-grade fuel Oil shale is currently mined in Estonia, Brazil and China

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“Freeze wall” technology - Drill shafts 8-12 ft apart around perimeter of productive site - Put in piping - Pump refrigerants through - Freezes water in the ground around the shafts - Forms a 20- to 30-foot ice barrier around the site